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The First Gram of Jouissance : Lacan on Genet’s Le balcon

The First Gram of Jouissance : Lacan on Genet’s Le balcon Lorenzo Chiesa The First Gram of Jouissance Lacan on Genet's Le balcon Lacan introduces jouissance relatively late in his work. The term still appears only sporadically in the 1950s, where it can hardly be said to constitute an original concept. For instance, in the first two Seminars and "Function and Field," jouissance is firmly rooted in the Hegelian, or better Kojèvian, dialectic of master and slave: put very simply, it is what the other is supposed to enjoy. We come into being through the other and are thus alienated or lacking subjects; we identify with the other and want to be in the place of his supposed enjoyment. The essence of our ego is nothing but frustration. Were we to fully reduce ourselves to the place of the other, we could not anyway be satisfied with it, since "it would still be the other's jouissance that [we] would have gotten recognized there" (Lacan, "Function and Field" 208). Jouissance features prominently in Seminar VII (1959­60). Here, it acquires several meanings, which are not fully developed into a circumscribed and consistent concept. Let us try to summarize Lacan's main arguments. First, jouissance can only be inscribed within the Law. Or http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png The Comparatist University of North Carolina Press

The First Gram of Jouissance : Lacan on Genet’s Le balcon

Chiesa, Lorenzo
The Comparatist , Volume 39 (1) – Nov 20, 2015
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University of North Carolina Press
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Abstract

Lorenzo Chiesa The First Gram of Jouissance Lacan on Genet's Le balcon Lacan introduces jouissance relatively late in his work. The term still appears only sporadically in the 1950s, where it can hardly be said to constitute an original concept. For instance, in the first two Seminars and "Function and Field," jouissance is firmly rooted in the Hegelian, or better Kojèvian, dialectic of master and slave: put very simply, it is what the other is supposed to enjoy. We come into being through the other and are thus alienated or lacking subjects; we identify with the other and want to be in the place of his supposed enjoyment. The essence of our ego is nothing but frustration. Were we to fully reduce ourselves to the place of the other, we could not anyway be satisfied with it, since "it would still be the other's jouissance that [we] would have gotten recognized there" (Lacan, "Function and Field" 208). Jouissance features prominently in Seminar VII (1959­60). Here, it acquires several meanings, which are not fully developed into a circumscribed and consistent concept. Let us try to summarize Lacan's main arguments. First, jouissance can only be inscribed within the Law. Or

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The Comparatist – University of North Carolina Press

Published: Nov 20, 2015

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